Big Easy Believer
Fansided

New Orleans Saints: What we learned about the NFC South on Sunday

By Jason Reed

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons and Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints shake hands at the end of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons and Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints shake hands at the end of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) – New Orleans Saints
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) – New Orleans Saints /

The Atlanta Falcons’ Achilles Heel will be their run defense

I know that every single Saints fan was grinning ear to ear when they saw the highlights of the Atlanta Falcons’ dreadful performance in Minnesota. However, while it was absolutely awful, it would not be fair to label the team as that bad moving forward.

More from Big Easy Believer

They had just about everything go wrong in this opening game. That included two key interceptions from Matt Ryan and some ugly three-and-out drives. They are not going to be that bad every single week.

However, the one real concern, at least for Falcons fans, is the run defense. The Falcons ranked 25th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game last season and that run defense was awful on Sunday.

Dalvin Cook carried the ball 21 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Altogether, the Vikings averaged four and a half yards per run with three rushing touchdowns.

The defense was able to limit Kirk Cousins to just eight of 10 completions for 98 yards, that was not the problem. The problem was stupid mistakes and the run defense. Stupid mistakes you can fix easily, the run defense… not so much.

This obviously bodes well for the New Orleans Pelicans, who have one of the most electric running backs in the league in Alvin Kamara. Heck, Falcons fans should be extremely worried as Christian McCaffrey showed today he is no joke and the Buccaneers were better than expected.

Next. Complete breakdown vs. the Houston Texans. dark

While one week is not the complete picture, the New Orleans Saints have to feel good about how they stand in the division. Now, they have to go out and get a win over the Houston Texans to be the only team in the NFC South with a win.

Home/New Orleans Saints